Large populations of wild smaragdina-like betta fish have been found in Kanchanaburi province in western Thailand by Mr. Prachaya Pammanasut. These catch sites in westen Thailand have never been reported before.

Mahidol University scientists have visited these sites about 300-500 KM from the northeastern catch sites, the only places reported to have the smaragdina fish so far.

The fish brought back to the laboratory appeared morphologically almost identical with B. smaragdina from northeastern Thailand. DNA analysis confirmed the near identity with the northeastern betta.

Col. Attavichit –
I thank you for the report on newly discovered B. smaragdina catch sites in western Thailand. This discovery leads to many new questions & discussions with respect to this beautiful species. Are there photos available of this new discovery? We are currently working on major upgrades to information on the about-betta-splendens/smp website and we will include this information. Thank you for sharing this information. Additional detailed information and photos can be emailed to about-betta-splendens/smp@ibcbettas.org .
Bill Little